Celebrate government layoffs if you want, but they affect real people

• People love it when government employees get laid off. Flint’s overlord, for instance, wants to lop 20 percent of the workforce, which sounds great – if you’re not one of the 147 human beings in that 20 percent. That’s 147 people with bills to pay who will soon be without a paycheck and benefits. You can go ahead and celebrate that as fiscal responsibility if you want. Certainly the city has to do something. But I say it’s nothing to cheer about.

• I’ll just say it: Michael Brown blew it with his hiring of Barnett Jones as public safety director. Jones will be paid $135,000 in a city that doesn’t have two nickels to rub together. What sense does that make? The city had a police chief. It didn’t need another layer of management. What the heck, Mr. Brown?

• Jones got off to the lousiest possible start when media dared to question him about the salary. He said, basically, “Hey, it’s a pay cut for me.” It came off arrogant and dismissive. I wonder if he knows that or cares?

• According to Mlive’s John Gonzalez, the best Coneys in Michigan are in downtown Detroit, while the Starlite boasts the best in Flint. I have no reason to doubt him. I’m not enough of a hotdog or Coney fan to know, and I certainly wouldn’t eat 29 dogs in three days, as he did, in order to find out. I have my cholesterol to think of. The way I see it, the best hot dog in the state is the one I buy at a ballpark, any ballpark. It’s the only time I eat them, so they’re always delicious. More than any other food, hot dogs are improved by ambiance.

• John Edwards is on trial this week for allegedly using campaign funds to cover up his mistress. I’m not paying attention to the trial, but I’ll bet his defense boils down to “the other brain made me do it.” Doesn’t it always with guys?

• The Secret Service scandal has gotten so big that a Congressional subcommittee is now probing it. That’s the great thing about Congress. If it’s dull stuff like unemployment or banking regulations, meh, they’ll get around to it. But if there’s probing of booze and women to be done, boom, they’re on it.

• Need Has a Face. This week it looks like Anna, a single mom of a 4-year-old special needs child and a newborn. She needs boys clothing, diapers and pull-ups. To help, call Jennifer at Manley Early Childhood Center, 810-422-2344, or email jbertuleit@flintschools.org. Information for these reports is provided by Resource Genesee, 810-767-0500.

• Whaley Children’s Center – which cares for the state’s most abused and neglected kids - needs sneakers. All sizes, all styles. To help, call 810-234-3603. Also, if you wanna have some fun and help the kids at the same time, come to our annual “Spring Fling” gala May 5 at the Flint Institute or Arts. It’s an evening of food, music and auctions. Tickets are $75 and available by calling the number above or visiting whaleychildren.org.